OUR HISTORY
History of the Barn
Our 7000 square foot barn was built close to the end of WWI (1918) to provide shelter and storage for a family-owned dairy farm. An expert stonemason was brought over from Fredricksburg, TX to provide the skilled knowledge to supervise the construction of the 8 foot tall, locally sourced stone walls. The wood in the barn consists of a variety of different species of wood, such as pine, oak, and elm, because of limited availability because of the war. The upper floor (hayloft) was constructed by the local carpenters and soars up 16 feet to the central cupola. Alfalfa and coastal hay bales were stacked up to the rafters.
Approximately 30 years later, a small 800 square foot stone building (milk house) was constructed to store the collected milk. These walls were built from limestone cut from a neighboring quarry one and a half miles up the road. They consist of two separately built walls with concrete in between to total around 18 inches thick. This provided excellent natural insulation as a storage facility.
History of Shooting Star Ranch
In 1990, the owners of Shooting Star Ranch were on a weekend camping trip with a group of friends. During the first night of their outing, Monty saw a shooting star. Shawn looked up, but she was too late and missed it. Disappointed, she looked around at the ranch property with large trees, cattle grazing, and children laughing and running about, and knew what her wish would have been. Fortunately for both of them, the night provided a meteor shower with dozens of shooting stars that set in motion all of their future dreams. After living in several different cities, states, and raising two wonderful children, Monty and Shawn were drawn to this old, run-down property.
In 2004, the Oehrlein family bought the ranch and lovingly started historical restoration and repair to the large dairy barn. It seemed only fitting to name the ranch after the dream they had so many years ago. Throughout the years, Monty and Shawn have hosted many barn parties and dances on the property with neighbors and friends. Following their daughter's wedding in the fall of 2016, they have had many requests and bookings for weddings and events. That very special night many years ago provided a vision that has lead to the development of Shooting Star Ranch.
A Letter from the Owners
Every wedding is personal for us, and we have poured our heart and soul into making the experience for each of our couples both meaningful and memorable. This is such an incredibly special season in your life, and we are honored that you are considering celebrating it with us!
We look forward to sharing our dreams come true with you.